Post by Sedition: Gladiator on Feb 19, 2011 22:09:07 GMT -6
Welcome back to another edition of Gladiator`s Rants. I have returned to impose my opinions on you. At this time I would like to remind you of the Golden Rule.
Gladiator Rant Fact #1- There are two kinds of opinions in this world, my opinion and the wrong opinion.
Learn this rule, and you will find my rants infinitely more entertaining. I understand some people may grow the urge to disagree with me. That is why I will enlighten you with this fact.
Gladiator Rant Fact #2- Gladiator is a genius. If you were to take all the geniuses in the world and combine them, they still would not equal the brilliance that is encased in Gladiator`s mind. So yes, I know more than you.
Just thought you should know. Now on to the train wreck that is Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
While looking for a way to sum up my feelings on TNA, I looked back at what they used to be. Back in 2005, they were hot. They had talented workers, decent storylines and amazing matches. I have sat by and watched, waiting for them to return to their glory. As I watched there latest PPV Against All Odds, I thought of the lyrics to the incredibly brilliant (insert sarcasm here) song by Phil Collins...
"So take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me,
just the memory of your face
Just take a look at me now, well there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against the odds and that's what I've got to face."
As much as it sickens me to quote that song, I must say the words ring true to my feelings on TNA. The greatness and freshness that once existed has faded to black. It is no longer even a shadow of what it once was, it hardly even resembles what it was. There is so much going wrong in TNA today. It is hard to narrow it down to one major cause. Roster members have been mismanaged, the weekly Impact TV show is bland, and features very little actual wrestling, the writing is terrible which highlights the problem of the previous point. If you have a roster made up of good wrestlers why would you waste your time on bland promos. So I will list what I believe are the biggest issues that are dragging TNA down.
1) Familiarity
There is nothing fresh about the product. They use recycled storylines. Imortal is nothing but another NWO rehash, and they aren't even trying to hide it. They even used a remixed version of the cheesy NWO guitar music. TNA really feels like a hybrid of 1999 WCW, and the early WWF Attitude era, just much much worse. They need to do something new and exciting to shake up the business, not try to relive the past. NWO worked because it was new and fresh, now it is tired and old. They need to do something new to shake up the company. It`s been 15 years since the NWO was introduced. I think the cow has been milked enough by now. It`s time to go out and buy a new cow, the old cows milk has gone sour. Maybe get a brown cow (I used to think brown cows produced chocolate milk. Wouldn`t it be cool if that were true).
2) The TNA World Title Situation
This title has been mismanaged as of late. It hardly feels important anymore. AJ Styles had a good run with it after winning it from Kurt Angle. He looked strong as a Champion. They added Ric Flair as his manager, and he truly seemed like a star. Then TNA did the strangest thing. They put the title on Rob Van Dam. This decision still boggles my mind. They took the title off a guy who was in the prime of his career, and put it on a has been who had been away from the ring for years. RVD's title reign was sad. His biggest rivalry was with Abyss??? Abyss is nothing more than a silly midcard version of Mankind. No one takes him seriously. Then they decide to give RVD some time off and instead of having him drop the title to someone else, they abruptly strip him of the title and vacate it for 2 months. Finally they decide to put the title on Jeff Hardy at Bound For Glory.
At this point I kind of thought things were taking a turn for the better. Jeff Hardy was great as a heel champion. It seemed like they were going to really back him as champion. Unfortunately his reign was very unremarkable. For two straight PPV's his challenger was Matt Morgan. Morgan had a very quick and puzzling turn from heel to face. The fans didn't have time to get behind him, so Jeff Hardy's two defences against him felt cheap. Then they decide to not book a title match at the next PPV. Instead they book a #1 Contender's match between Mr. Anderson, and ... you guessed it Matt Morgan. Not exactly a barn burning headline match. After Anderson wins the #1 contender spot you have an unannounced title defence where Anderson wins and Hardy is made to look weaker than ever. Anderson's title reign has been handled like he's holding the WWE Tag Team Title. His title defenses weren't even main event matches. Then they have him drop the title less than a month later, back to Jeff Hardy. Which brings the question, what was the point of having Anderson win if the plan was to put the title back on Hardy 1 month later and make Anderson look like a weak champion.
To top it all off, immediately after Jeff Hardy wins the already meaningless title back, it is made even more meaningless. Let me set the stage. TNA has been subtly building to a Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam showdown. They booked the match for this past Impact. They billed it as a match 6 months in the making, and gave it about 60 minutes of build up. They would have had much more to gain by promoting the match for next week, but instead they did nothing to build it. Before the match TNA made a critical error, they let RVD cut a promo. He is notorious for no selling current storylines with his cool as a cucumber attitude (more on that later). In the promo Rob Van Dam said that he couldn`t wait to get his hand on Hardy, and winning the TNA title would be just a bonus. Great job Rob, way to downplay the importance of the TNA title. I can just picture the conversation had when planning this promo.
Russo: Ok Rob, you are pretty much our top babyface, which is a sad and pathetic statement, but it is what it is. Tonight you get your title shot. We need you to really sell the importance of winning the title, because the belt has lost all meaning.
Van Dam: Hey, I know what to do. How about I show up to the interview stoned, acting all cool, and state that winning the biggest title in our company is just a bonus. Nothing will build a title more than having the top face basically say it`s not important.
Russo: Go with it. I like your style. Hmmm, I wonder if David Arquette is around. Isn`t he due for a title reign. Maybe that will make the title more legitimate.
Yes, that was the real transcript of the conversation. Anyone who says otherwise is a communist, and a racist, and probably a child molester too. So, the TNA title means nothing. If the title means nothing, why should we care about the product.
3) Roster Mismanagement
TNA has some remarkable talents. AJ Styles is one of the best in ring performers in the world, he is entertaining as either a heel or a face, and he looks like a star. He has spent the last year as the reigning TV Champion (Formerly known as the Global Championship, formerly known as the Legends Championship). It is a mid card title that no one cares about. They have had several guys who could be huge stars, but they had no idea what to do with them. They also put too much stock into WWE throwaways. Anytime WWE releases a guy, and he shows up in TNA you can almost guarantee that he will get a push (see Pope D'Angelo Dinero, otherwise known as lame WWE throwaway Elijah Burke). Meanwhile, a great talent like Christopher Daniels is made to dress up in a skeleton costume (Suicide), and given his release. They need to get better at building their home grown talent, so it doesn't feel like the who's who of WWE's unemployment line. You know what that means, watch closely for the inevitable TNA push of a freshly released Zack Ryder (Yes I am aware Ryder has not been released yet, but who are we kidding how long are they going to prolong the inevitable.)
The following are the performers that TNA should be building up:
1) Jeff Hardy - As a heel he is fantastic. His promos, though imperfect are exactly what he needs to be doing. Since there are still people who cheer him (mostly women) he goes out of his way to insult the fans. He does things to make himself look despicable, like smoking a cigarette on his way to the ring. His transformation from dopey, convulsing, crowd pleasing, emo pretty boy, to mildly psychotic, egomaniac, despicable, emo pretty boy has been fairly seemless. I think he has done a very nice job of getting himself over, and am looking forward to seeing more of him as a heel. Note: I hated him as a babyface, so my praise for him should not be taken lightly.
2) AJ Styles - He should be what Sting was to WCW, and what The Undertaker was to WWE. He is the guy who will always be there. The guy who will never jump ship. You could easily build the entire organization around him. I think TNA made a good decision turning him heel, and putting Ric Flair in his corner. The only problem is, TNA forgot that he is a Main Event act. A talent like AJ Styles should never be pushed down to the mid card. The guy is the face of TNA, whether he is a heel or a face, he ought to be the #1 heel or face. TNA needs to give Hardy a nice long run as TNA Champion (I understand in Vince Russo's world 2 months is a long reign, but he needs to step out of Russoville and come back to reality). Then AJ Styles should be the one to unseat him as Champ.
3) Robert Roode - Though I enjoy Beer Money as a team, I think Roode is capable of so much more. He is great on the mic, great in the ring, has natural charisma and star power. He has potential to be one of the very best heels in the business. They just need to break him off from James Storm and give him a good singles run. I do not hold out high hopes for Robert Roode as a face. I expect he will be stuck in Tag Team purgatory as long as they keep him as a face. As a heel I can see Roode as World Champion material. As a face the best he will ever do is being the TVGlobalLegend Champion.
4) Douglas Williams - Here's a guy that can be a Superstar. What he's lacking right now is a true character. He has all the in ring ability, he has a star power quality, but the fans need a reason to care about these things. If they could find the right role for him to play, he could have a huge future.
5) Matt Hardy - Here is one of TNA's biggest blunders. Matt Hardy gets a ton of publicity for his borderline bi-polar you tube videos. In these videos he comes off as arrogant and mentally unstable. He uses these videos to earn a release from WWE. When his no compete clause with WWE expires he is introduced to TNA as RVD's mystery opponent at Genesis. Great way to introduce a potential superstar right? Wrong. First of all RVD has pretty much become irrelevant in TNA (I'll address that later), secondly they really didn't hype the mystery opponent match very well. Now they are running Matt Hardy as "Cold Blood" Matt Hardy.... WHAT??? They had a built in character from Hardy's crazy bi-polar youtube videos. Why on earth didn't they ride that wave of hype instead of making him a plain, ordinary, assembly line heel. The guy has the potential to be one of the best in the business, but no one seems to know how to use him right. They need to set him apart as something special instead of integrating him into the TNA norm.
Honourable Mention - I would like to give huge props to Jeff Jarrett. I don't believe that he should be elevated too high in TNA, simply because everyone knows he is the boss and it doesn't work having an inmate run the asylum. That being said, the Daddy Jeff stuff he's doing right now is some of the greatest stuff I have ever seen from him. Say what you want about pulling the personal lives of Angle and Jarrett into the show, I think it's playing out great and Jarrett deserves credit for maintaining the best rivalry going in TNA right now. His Double J Double MA stuff was great too.
Guys They Need To Remove Or Repackage
1) Vince Russo - Ok, so he's not an on camera character, but no one else is hurting TNA more than him. The quick title changes, the screwball finishes, the dopey comedy, it all seems awfully familiar. Russo has never changed, and clearly never learnt any lessons. Fire him and hire Rev and I as writers of TNA. As my first act as co-head writer for TNA I promise to have an on air decapitation of... you guessed it, Vince Russo.
2) Abyss - I would come out with a clever way to repackage him, but frankly I don't think it would work. When I first saw TNA he was an intimidating, menacing monster heel managed by the amazing James Mitchell. He was great and people saw him as a serious threat. Since then Abyss has alternated between being a campy Horror movie serial killer type, and being a mildly retarded good natured teddy bear. His credibility is gone, and it will never return. After his most recent face run, where they basically just made him a Hulkimaniac, they came up with a brilliant idea to put some much needed heat on Abyss... let's give him a board with a bunch of nails sticking out. Seriously watching him walk around with that thing growling and snarling made me wonder when Wes Craven would make a campy slasher movie based on this. There just is no redeeming him now. Send him packing along with Russo.
3) RVD - Now, I am as big a fan of what RVD was as anyone out there. In ECW and WWE he was always one of my favorites, but there is a reason that he was never the main eventer in WWE for long. RVD is more concerned with coming across cool, and laid back then he is concerned with selling a storyline. Case and point, when Rob Van Dam was attacked with Abyss' stupid board with nails that would kill someone if used in real life, he was stripped of the TNA title. While he was away they had him cut an over the phone promo. This should have been an opportunity for him to tear into Abyss and show some anger. Instead RVD comes across as laid back, non chalaunt, and probably high as a kite. It killed any heat that was on Abyss over the attack, and made an already stupid, phony storyline seem even stupider. RVD is not a main event act. He is impressive in the ring, less so now, but he just cannot carry a story. They shouldn't get rid of him, but they should at least take him out of any storyline that requires him to show any level of emotion. His cool, hip, stoner persona seemed cool in 1999, but after watching him do the same thing for 11 years, it's gotten pretty old.
4) Eric Young - His current status in TNA frustrates me perhaps more than anyone else. Before Hogan and Bischoff came in and redesigned TNA, Eric Young was red hot. He was running the World Elite stable. Giving out awesome promos. Getting wins over top stars like Kevin Nash (Yes I am aware that Nash is an old man and no one was taking him serious in TNA, but TNA didn't realize that). He was one of the best things going. He had a real Chris Jericho quality to him. Fast forward 1 year and he is now the dim witted love interest of bi-sexual Orlando Jordan. Yes you read that right. He has essentially been turned into the Hornswoggle of TNA. The only difference is WWE goes out of there way to make Hornswoggle look strong. They had him beat the snot out of Tyson Kidd at the Royal Rumble (Yes I am aware Tyson Kidd has very little relevance today, but come on Hornswoggle is a freaking midget). TNA is doing nothing to elevate Eric Young in any way shape or form. It is agonizing to watch such a great talent wasted on cornball comedy ambiguosly gay skits.
So, to sum this all up. I know TNA has many more problems than the one's I have brought out, I just focused in on what I believe to be the biggest one's. Really 99.9% of TNA's problems can be summed up by a chant that can be heard on several TNA shows when things get stupid, FIRE RUSSO!!!
Gladiator wishes to thank Vince Russo for being an enormous tool, and providing me with plenty of ammunition for my rant.
Gladiator Rant Fact #1- There are two kinds of opinions in this world, my opinion and the wrong opinion.
Learn this rule, and you will find my rants infinitely more entertaining. I understand some people may grow the urge to disagree with me. That is why I will enlighten you with this fact.
Gladiator Rant Fact #2- Gladiator is a genius. If you were to take all the geniuses in the world and combine them, they still would not equal the brilliance that is encased in Gladiator`s mind. So yes, I know more than you.
Just thought you should know. Now on to the train wreck that is Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
While looking for a way to sum up my feelings on TNA, I looked back at what they used to be. Back in 2005, they were hot. They had talented workers, decent storylines and amazing matches. I have sat by and watched, waiting for them to return to their glory. As I watched there latest PPV Against All Odds, I thought of the lyrics to the incredibly brilliant (insert sarcasm here) song by Phil Collins...
"So take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me,
just the memory of your face
Just take a look at me now, well there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against the odds and that's what I've got to face."
As much as it sickens me to quote that song, I must say the words ring true to my feelings on TNA. The greatness and freshness that once existed has faded to black. It is no longer even a shadow of what it once was, it hardly even resembles what it was. There is so much going wrong in TNA today. It is hard to narrow it down to one major cause. Roster members have been mismanaged, the weekly Impact TV show is bland, and features very little actual wrestling, the writing is terrible which highlights the problem of the previous point. If you have a roster made up of good wrestlers why would you waste your time on bland promos. So I will list what I believe are the biggest issues that are dragging TNA down.
1) Familiarity
There is nothing fresh about the product. They use recycled storylines. Imortal is nothing but another NWO rehash, and they aren't even trying to hide it. They even used a remixed version of the cheesy NWO guitar music. TNA really feels like a hybrid of 1999 WCW, and the early WWF Attitude era, just much much worse. They need to do something new and exciting to shake up the business, not try to relive the past. NWO worked because it was new and fresh, now it is tired and old. They need to do something new to shake up the company. It`s been 15 years since the NWO was introduced. I think the cow has been milked enough by now. It`s time to go out and buy a new cow, the old cows milk has gone sour. Maybe get a brown cow (I used to think brown cows produced chocolate milk. Wouldn`t it be cool if that were true).
2) The TNA World Title Situation
This title has been mismanaged as of late. It hardly feels important anymore. AJ Styles had a good run with it after winning it from Kurt Angle. He looked strong as a Champion. They added Ric Flair as his manager, and he truly seemed like a star. Then TNA did the strangest thing. They put the title on Rob Van Dam. This decision still boggles my mind. They took the title off a guy who was in the prime of his career, and put it on a has been who had been away from the ring for years. RVD's title reign was sad. His biggest rivalry was with Abyss??? Abyss is nothing more than a silly midcard version of Mankind. No one takes him seriously. Then they decide to give RVD some time off and instead of having him drop the title to someone else, they abruptly strip him of the title and vacate it for 2 months. Finally they decide to put the title on Jeff Hardy at Bound For Glory.
At this point I kind of thought things were taking a turn for the better. Jeff Hardy was great as a heel champion. It seemed like they were going to really back him as champion. Unfortunately his reign was very unremarkable. For two straight PPV's his challenger was Matt Morgan. Morgan had a very quick and puzzling turn from heel to face. The fans didn't have time to get behind him, so Jeff Hardy's two defences against him felt cheap. Then they decide to not book a title match at the next PPV. Instead they book a #1 Contender's match between Mr. Anderson, and ... you guessed it Matt Morgan. Not exactly a barn burning headline match. After Anderson wins the #1 contender spot you have an unannounced title defence where Anderson wins and Hardy is made to look weaker than ever. Anderson's title reign has been handled like he's holding the WWE Tag Team Title. His title defenses weren't even main event matches. Then they have him drop the title less than a month later, back to Jeff Hardy. Which brings the question, what was the point of having Anderson win if the plan was to put the title back on Hardy 1 month later and make Anderson look like a weak champion.
To top it all off, immediately after Jeff Hardy wins the already meaningless title back, it is made even more meaningless. Let me set the stage. TNA has been subtly building to a Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam showdown. They booked the match for this past Impact. They billed it as a match 6 months in the making, and gave it about 60 minutes of build up. They would have had much more to gain by promoting the match for next week, but instead they did nothing to build it. Before the match TNA made a critical error, they let RVD cut a promo. He is notorious for no selling current storylines with his cool as a cucumber attitude (more on that later). In the promo Rob Van Dam said that he couldn`t wait to get his hand on Hardy, and winning the TNA title would be just a bonus. Great job Rob, way to downplay the importance of the TNA title. I can just picture the conversation had when planning this promo.
Russo: Ok Rob, you are pretty much our top babyface, which is a sad and pathetic statement, but it is what it is. Tonight you get your title shot. We need you to really sell the importance of winning the title, because the belt has lost all meaning.
Van Dam: Hey, I know what to do. How about I show up to the interview stoned, acting all cool, and state that winning the biggest title in our company is just a bonus. Nothing will build a title more than having the top face basically say it`s not important.
Russo: Go with it. I like your style. Hmmm, I wonder if David Arquette is around. Isn`t he due for a title reign. Maybe that will make the title more legitimate.
Yes, that was the real transcript of the conversation. Anyone who says otherwise is a communist, and a racist, and probably a child molester too. So, the TNA title means nothing. If the title means nothing, why should we care about the product.
3) Roster Mismanagement
TNA has some remarkable talents. AJ Styles is one of the best in ring performers in the world, he is entertaining as either a heel or a face, and he looks like a star. He has spent the last year as the reigning TV Champion (Formerly known as the Global Championship, formerly known as the Legends Championship). It is a mid card title that no one cares about. They have had several guys who could be huge stars, but they had no idea what to do with them. They also put too much stock into WWE throwaways. Anytime WWE releases a guy, and he shows up in TNA you can almost guarantee that he will get a push (see Pope D'Angelo Dinero, otherwise known as lame WWE throwaway Elijah Burke). Meanwhile, a great talent like Christopher Daniels is made to dress up in a skeleton costume (Suicide), and given his release. They need to get better at building their home grown talent, so it doesn't feel like the who's who of WWE's unemployment line. You know what that means, watch closely for the inevitable TNA push of a freshly released Zack Ryder (Yes I am aware Ryder has not been released yet, but who are we kidding how long are they going to prolong the inevitable.)
The following are the performers that TNA should be building up:
1) Jeff Hardy - As a heel he is fantastic. His promos, though imperfect are exactly what he needs to be doing. Since there are still people who cheer him (mostly women) he goes out of his way to insult the fans. He does things to make himself look despicable, like smoking a cigarette on his way to the ring. His transformation from dopey, convulsing, crowd pleasing, emo pretty boy, to mildly psychotic, egomaniac, despicable, emo pretty boy has been fairly seemless. I think he has done a very nice job of getting himself over, and am looking forward to seeing more of him as a heel. Note: I hated him as a babyface, so my praise for him should not be taken lightly.
2) AJ Styles - He should be what Sting was to WCW, and what The Undertaker was to WWE. He is the guy who will always be there. The guy who will never jump ship. You could easily build the entire organization around him. I think TNA made a good decision turning him heel, and putting Ric Flair in his corner. The only problem is, TNA forgot that he is a Main Event act. A talent like AJ Styles should never be pushed down to the mid card. The guy is the face of TNA, whether he is a heel or a face, he ought to be the #1 heel or face. TNA needs to give Hardy a nice long run as TNA Champion (I understand in Vince Russo's world 2 months is a long reign, but he needs to step out of Russoville and come back to reality). Then AJ Styles should be the one to unseat him as Champ.
3) Robert Roode - Though I enjoy Beer Money as a team, I think Roode is capable of so much more. He is great on the mic, great in the ring, has natural charisma and star power. He has potential to be one of the very best heels in the business. They just need to break him off from James Storm and give him a good singles run. I do not hold out high hopes for Robert Roode as a face. I expect he will be stuck in Tag Team purgatory as long as they keep him as a face. As a heel I can see Roode as World Champion material. As a face the best he will ever do is being the TVGlobalLegend Champion.
4) Douglas Williams - Here's a guy that can be a Superstar. What he's lacking right now is a true character. He has all the in ring ability, he has a star power quality, but the fans need a reason to care about these things. If they could find the right role for him to play, he could have a huge future.
5) Matt Hardy - Here is one of TNA's biggest blunders. Matt Hardy gets a ton of publicity for his borderline bi-polar you tube videos. In these videos he comes off as arrogant and mentally unstable. He uses these videos to earn a release from WWE. When his no compete clause with WWE expires he is introduced to TNA as RVD's mystery opponent at Genesis. Great way to introduce a potential superstar right? Wrong. First of all RVD has pretty much become irrelevant in TNA (I'll address that later), secondly they really didn't hype the mystery opponent match very well. Now they are running Matt Hardy as "Cold Blood" Matt Hardy.... WHAT??? They had a built in character from Hardy's crazy bi-polar youtube videos. Why on earth didn't they ride that wave of hype instead of making him a plain, ordinary, assembly line heel. The guy has the potential to be one of the best in the business, but no one seems to know how to use him right. They need to set him apart as something special instead of integrating him into the TNA norm.
Honourable Mention - I would like to give huge props to Jeff Jarrett. I don't believe that he should be elevated too high in TNA, simply because everyone knows he is the boss and it doesn't work having an inmate run the asylum. That being said, the Daddy Jeff stuff he's doing right now is some of the greatest stuff I have ever seen from him. Say what you want about pulling the personal lives of Angle and Jarrett into the show, I think it's playing out great and Jarrett deserves credit for maintaining the best rivalry going in TNA right now. His Double J Double MA stuff was great too.
Guys They Need To Remove Or Repackage
1) Vince Russo - Ok, so he's not an on camera character, but no one else is hurting TNA more than him. The quick title changes, the screwball finishes, the dopey comedy, it all seems awfully familiar. Russo has never changed, and clearly never learnt any lessons. Fire him and hire Rev and I as writers of TNA. As my first act as co-head writer for TNA I promise to have an on air decapitation of... you guessed it, Vince Russo.
2) Abyss - I would come out with a clever way to repackage him, but frankly I don't think it would work. When I first saw TNA he was an intimidating, menacing monster heel managed by the amazing James Mitchell. He was great and people saw him as a serious threat. Since then Abyss has alternated between being a campy Horror movie serial killer type, and being a mildly retarded good natured teddy bear. His credibility is gone, and it will never return. After his most recent face run, where they basically just made him a Hulkimaniac, they came up with a brilliant idea to put some much needed heat on Abyss... let's give him a board with a bunch of nails sticking out. Seriously watching him walk around with that thing growling and snarling made me wonder when Wes Craven would make a campy slasher movie based on this. There just is no redeeming him now. Send him packing along with Russo.
3) RVD - Now, I am as big a fan of what RVD was as anyone out there. In ECW and WWE he was always one of my favorites, but there is a reason that he was never the main eventer in WWE for long. RVD is more concerned with coming across cool, and laid back then he is concerned with selling a storyline. Case and point, when Rob Van Dam was attacked with Abyss' stupid board with nails that would kill someone if used in real life, he was stripped of the TNA title. While he was away they had him cut an over the phone promo. This should have been an opportunity for him to tear into Abyss and show some anger. Instead RVD comes across as laid back, non chalaunt, and probably high as a kite. It killed any heat that was on Abyss over the attack, and made an already stupid, phony storyline seem even stupider. RVD is not a main event act. He is impressive in the ring, less so now, but he just cannot carry a story. They shouldn't get rid of him, but they should at least take him out of any storyline that requires him to show any level of emotion. His cool, hip, stoner persona seemed cool in 1999, but after watching him do the same thing for 11 years, it's gotten pretty old.
4) Eric Young - His current status in TNA frustrates me perhaps more than anyone else. Before Hogan and Bischoff came in and redesigned TNA, Eric Young was red hot. He was running the World Elite stable. Giving out awesome promos. Getting wins over top stars like Kevin Nash (Yes I am aware that Nash is an old man and no one was taking him serious in TNA, but TNA didn't realize that). He was one of the best things going. He had a real Chris Jericho quality to him. Fast forward 1 year and he is now the dim witted love interest of bi-sexual Orlando Jordan. Yes you read that right. He has essentially been turned into the Hornswoggle of TNA. The only difference is WWE goes out of there way to make Hornswoggle look strong. They had him beat the snot out of Tyson Kidd at the Royal Rumble (Yes I am aware Tyson Kidd has very little relevance today, but come on Hornswoggle is a freaking midget). TNA is doing nothing to elevate Eric Young in any way shape or form. It is agonizing to watch such a great talent wasted on cornball comedy ambiguosly gay skits.
So, to sum this all up. I know TNA has many more problems than the one's I have brought out, I just focused in on what I believe to be the biggest one's. Really 99.9% of TNA's problems can be summed up by a chant that can be heard on several TNA shows when things get stupid, FIRE RUSSO!!!
Gladiator wishes to thank Vince Russo for being an enormous tool, and providing me with plenty of ammunition for my rant.
